Game of the Decade?

Going back as far as only five years, I'm hard pressed to remember a more important game for the Missouri Tigers than their match-up with Nebraska next weekend.

You could argue that those Independence Bowl games were more important, but were they really? What did they mean? It was the damn Independence Bowl. I actually fell asleep at halftime - at the game, in Shreveport - three years ago. The last time I saw a Missouri-Nebraska game, you can be sure as hell that I wasn't sleeping.

But, in my short tenure as a Missouri fan - which I am now more than ever - there hasn't been a game with bigger implications than next Saturday's at Faurot. The stakes are huge, and simple...the winner gets the edge in the Big 12 North. Whoever comes out on top is the early favorite for the privilege of being 42-point underdogs in the Big 12 championship game against Oklahoma.

Nebraska will be coming off a rocky last three weeks, depending on how it goes against Iowa State this weekend. Two weeks ago they took it on the chin to No.1 ranked USC 49-31, and last week they barely edged Ball State 41-40. They stand at No.25 in the most recent AP poll, five spots behind the Tigers.

Missouri, on the other hand, hasn't been legitimately tested. Oh, they've tested themselves once or twice in the second half; but they've yet to really be threatened. They've won their four games by a total of 69 points, no team getting any closer than Illinois in week 1. In the three games since, Chase Daniel has thrown for ten touchdowns and rushed for one, he's thrown for 952 yards in those three games.

Jeremy Maclin has developed into a primetime Big 12 player, fitting nicely into an absolutely explosive offense - possibly the best in the country. The Missouri defense seems to be maybe, possibly - although I hesitate in saying it - finding its place in all of this.

And although I'm not a fan of Gary Stinkel...he seems to have a knack for big games.

To say it old school, all that ranking crap gets thrown off the back of the train next Saturday. The numbers don't mean a damn thing. This is Missouri and Nebraska and the last time the Huskers marched their corn into Columbia, the goalposts were torn down, there was punches thrown between Nebraska players and Tiger fans, 21 people were arrested, at least one car - that I can remember - was trampled, and Harpos might've made more money selling alcohol that night than George Bush did stealing oil.

Expect a lot of the same. Wish I could be there. I actually turned down a chance to fly in for it. Can you believe that? If I would've known Elton John - the King of Ivory - was going to be playing at the arena formerly known as "The Paige" Friday night...I certainly wouldn't have missed it.

If I remember correctly, there's going to be a lot of college kids waking up around 8 with some pretty serious headaches...that will most likely be promptly cured by Friday's night's leftovers and a plethora of Energy drinks. They'll be bar-b-queuing cheap hotdogs and running routes in parking lots, bouncing footballs off Hummers. By gametime, 7:15 p.m., most of them will all be jacked up on Augie's best, chanting "we ain't got time for no damn 'SKERS."

They'll be waiting, impatiently waiting, to get their chance at every college football fans dream...tearing down the yellow polls and marchin their drunk asses to Harpos.

I would've been studying, of course. Months ago, a reader posted that they had visual evidence otherwise. But I'm not real sure what they're talking about.